The wonderful work on this page is the result of a collaboration
between an English teacher, Pre-service teacher, Science teacher,
Media Specialist, and the creative 7th grade students at Philip
Livingston Magnet Academy in Albany, New York, US.
Click on the page numbers above to see stories written by grade school students.

Phantdogg by
Aunri

My animal is fun to play with
But he's vicious.
If he bites you
You'll need a million stitches.
He's so big that when he tries to hide
You know that he's missing.
My dog is mad smart.
He can even go fishing!

The
Alabiemon by Jermel

The Alabiemon eats everything on earth!

Even the dirtiest dirt!

He often makes a sound like a dog.

Some people mistake him

For a giant bullfrog!

The
Ketah by Kevin

Ketah likes to eat a

Big gazelle or zebra

Sleeping all day,

Prowling all night,

He'll growl if he doesn't

Get his way!

Poem by
Lucy

Zog was a good pet,
He never growled when going to the vet.

Zog lived a long time ago,
Given to children, tied with a bow.

Zog used to yip, he did it a lot.
He had many stripes, but not one dot.

Zog was a good pet,
But now he's extinct.

Chelekey by
Stephanie

Chelekey is not a burgler.
Chelekey eats hamburgers.
She sleeps well, has friends, but makes no noise
Except when she sees a cute boy!

She makes the best cookies you've ever eaten.
Sometimes she helps with the egg beating.
Chelekey is full of love.
She likes to sit in the clouds above.

The
Zebrachee's Day Out by Melvin

Zebrachee is yellow, black and
white.

He could probably fly a kite!

The Zebrachee always hunts at
night

Because, to him, it just feels
right.

But after this hunting, he will
go home.

He wishes never to be alone!

Zekey by
Cassandra

Zekey has a
bell

But it sounds
like a key.

She is half
zebra

And half monkey.

Sometimes,
she is a predator's prey

Because she's sweet enough
to eat.

The
ElZeCheMon by Julia

The ElZeCheMon was created a
long time ago when some weasels had a little fun. One day,
two of the animal creators were at work on four different
animals, sculpting them out of clay. This was how all animals
were created. Creators would sculpt them out of clay and
then sprinkle a "living dust" over them to bring
them to life.

Now the four animals they
were working on were the elephant, the zebra, the cheetah
and the monkey. They had just finished and had left them
to dry, and had walked away. Out from behind a tree came
a mischievous little weasel who was looking for fun. He
saw the four wet sculptures and thought of a plan. With
the help of all his brothers and sisters, he took apart
the wet sculptures and made a new animal of all their
combined parts which we now know as ElZeCheMon.

Many thanks to:

Ms. Mary Paley, English teacher

Dr.
John Polnak, Principal

Ms. Kamila Smith,
Pre-service teacher

Ms. Kara Ford, Science teacher

Ms.
Maryanne Malecki,
English Language Arts Supervisor

Mr. Neil Shapiro,
Media Specialist

Special thanks
to all of the student poets and writers who wrote about their switcheroos.